China is witnessing a massive labour uprising from one of the most oppressed classes in the manufacturing hub of the world at Foxconn’s Zhengzhou factory against its zero Covid policy.
Labourers and workers at Foxconn’s Zhengzhou factory held protests on the factory campus, where they have had to stay since a closed-loop system was announced to counter the spread of COVID-19 without compromising productivity under the Zero Covid policy, reported Investigative Journalism Reportika.
The government-deployed security officers are trying to suppress the uprising with violence as shown in the videos circulating on Chinese social media.
However, #LaborUprisingInChina is trending in many parts of the world. People on social media showed sympathy towards the suffering labourers at the Foxconn iPhone factory, reported Investigative Journalism Reportika.
Videos of the violence in Zhengzhou showed masked labourers facing off police in protective suits. The authorities have used force and severely injured many of them.
The violence comes as China again tightens its COVID-19 measures, making it the only major economy still subscribed to full lockdowns to face virus outbreaks. China’s coronavirus measures have triggered domestic dissent this year. Investigative Journalism Reportika has covered over 450 protests in China this year.
Meanwhile, China on Wednesday recorded the highest number of daily COVID-19 cases, since the start of the pandemic, official data showed.
“Chinese mainland reported 3,927 new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases, and 27,517 new local asymptomatic cases,” the state media outlet Global Times (GT) reported. The latest number broke the previous record set on April 13, when the cases hit 29, 317, according to Reuters news agency.
Local authorities are continuing to stick to the “zero-Covid strategy” championed by the central government in Beijing. The easing of the restrictive measures imposed on large factory compounds like the Foxconn factory in Zhengzhou is unlikely, reported Investigative Journalism Reportika.
Some workers said they were informed that the bonus that was initially promised to them would be delayed, and the situation in the dormitory, where workers who have been there for weeks were mixed with the newly hired workers, enhances the risk of them being exposed to the coronavirus.
On Wednesday, workers said that Foxconn failed to honour their promise of an attractive bonus and pay package after they arrived to work at the plant. Numerous complaints have also been posted anonymously on social media platforms — accusing Foxconn of having changed the salary packages previously advertised, reported Investigative Journalism Reportika.
Workers were told that they will get a lot of allowances if they join back like additional 3,000 yuan job stability allowance after 30 days of employment.
Employees who resigned and returned to their hometowns will be given an additional one-time care subsidy of 500 yuan after re-employment, which will be paid along with the salary of the month.
Videos of many people leaving Zhengzhou on foot had gone viral on Chinese social media earlier in November, forcing Foxconn to step up measures to get its staff back. To limit the fallout, the company said it had quadrupled daily bonuses for workers at the plant this month.